On Thursday evening, upon their return from a fulfilling trip to Nairobi, Kenya, activist Brittany Packnett and political pundit Symone Sanders were attacked in a Delta Airlines Lounge.
According to The Root, the incident occurred in Delta Airlines’ SkyClub. As the two women were waiting to board their flight home, a man, who was heavily intoxicated, came in and caused a scene.
“He was speaking loudly and cursing to someone on the phone,” Sanders explained to The Root. “The lounge attendant and two other people asked him to quiet down. I interjected after he was rude to the lounge attendant [who was also black, according to Packnett]. I leaned over and said, ‘Pardon me. Will you please keep it down?”
“Then, he began speaking even louder,” Sanders added. “We look over again, and now he’s speaking in another language and giving us the middle finger…Mind you; we are sitting on the same bench.”
“So I get up and ask again, ‘Sir, please. This is ridiculous; no one is being rude to you, and you terrorizing the people in this lounge is not OK.’ He continues giving me the middle finger. … I sit down, and then the flight attendant gets back up. Next thing we know, he jumps up and throws his water at the nearest person (Brittany)—like, drenches her whole body, then pushes her down. He lunges at her, then I jump in to defend her. It was terrifying.”
Here is a picture of the white man who cussed at us for asking him to quiet down and then THREW WATER ON ME and tried to fight me and @SymoneDSanders in the @KenyaAirways Simba lounge. @Delta. pic.twitter.com/TzuF4K6vAO
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) March 28, 2019
After the incident, Packnett took to Twitter to detail the entire ordeal, with pictures of the assailant. She also added that the man was subdued only after other men stepped in, and highlighted the fact that the attack did not occur in America.
“I’ll be damned if I came all the way to Africa to be attacked by a white man,” she said, as she continued- condemning both the airport and Delta security for their slow response.
“I repeat: Duncan Conrad Hockey of the UK assaulted me in the KenyaAirways lounge tonight. KenyaAirways is a member of the Delta sky team. Security took nearly 30 minutes to arrive. This is unacceptable.”
By Friday morning, the women still had not heard from Kenya Airways or Delta. However, Packnett said despite the entire ordeal, their trip was “spectacular.”
Morning.
I’ve landed on my layover. Physically sore, emotionally frustrated, but safe. Awaiting further follow up from @KenyaAirways and the skyteam lead @Delta. Appreciative of y’all.
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) March 29, 2019
